The history, culture and traditions of San Juan de los Remedios, the eighth city founded by the Spaniards in Cuba, was recreated at an artistic gala on Tuesday night to celebrate the city´s 500th anniversary.
Tastemaker and legend of the world music and club culture scenes Gilles Peterson was recently in Havana to shoot a new documentary on Afro-Cuban Rumba. The film is a collaboration between his London-based record label Brownswood Recordings and Havana Cultura; a Havana Club International project that celebrates Cuba's contemporary artistic culture. Peterson has been visiting Cuba for the last six years and produced a series of albums including Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound; The Search Continues; The Soundclash; and Mala in Cuba, which bring together the modern sounds and voices of the island. Now Gilles is back, "To get to the bottom of what Rumba is all about."
Cuba es Moda was recently held in Havana with the aim of diversifying the presence of textiles, footwear, cosmetics and various other products on the national market.
Over the coming months Havana will be able to appreciate versions of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare; A doll's house, by Henrik Ibsen; and Virgilio Piñera's Dos viejos pánicos.
Since last December, interest in visiting Cuba has increased markedly, as airlines announce more frequent flights.
In a society increasingly influenced by screens, young Cuban creators must exercise a decisive role in the audiovisual literacy of the population, claimed members of the ‘Hermanos Saiz Association' (AHS) in Camaguey.
Socialisation of projects, where appreciation and teaching of art and design techniques go hand in hand, constitute a vital need for expansion of knowledge in this area, one of the areas having the greatest impact on cultural consumption, and where products with alienating content proliferate.
Current challenges like the demise of reading or the appreciation of other art forms as ways to enjoy free time before the attractions of the famous package of the week, the growth of video games, and other themes, were analysed at the meeting of the audio visual section of AHS in Camaguey province.
In the process leading to the Provincial Assembly which was developed in September in Camaguey, young people such as edro Martin Navarro, expressed ideas and practical solutions to contribute to a cultural growth which also curbs attitudes which are violent, criminal and socially indisciplined.
Member of the Audiovisual Movement in Nuevitas, Martin Navarro, expressed how that project had contributed in the northern town to integrate all those interested in audiovisual creation, amateurs or professionals, to make films, show them and extend their knowledge to the community.
Also what was stressed was the impact of the project ‘Cine en los Barrios' (Cinema in the neighbourhoods), which takes filmmaking to remote parts of the city, to rural places and diverse institutions, in this way the variety of spaces which with that end were finally shown in the Casa del Joven Creador (Home of the Young Creator), headquarters of the AHS.
For his part, Eduardo Lopez Leyva, member of the local bureau of the Communist Party in Camaguey, praised the work of young people in the arts organization in the region, champions of revolutionary art, as essential today.
In the meeting and in the presence of national vice presidents of AHS, local members chose their representatives for the next period of work.
Salsa!! Mayito Rivera, former singer from Santiago de Cuba with Cuban supergroup Los Van Van, will be performing in London with two other singers from Los Van Van, Angel Bonne and Pedrito Calvo, and a timba orchestra on 1 August. Tickets on sale soon from http://www.havanatolondres.com/
I couldn't make it to the opening day; so I saw much of what happened that day on the television. However, I experienced that feedback, that sensation of enjoying what lives on in the place, in the imagination of locals, because this town by the sea has a special meaning for me. I spent my first years of life crossing the Bay of Havana, and the story of my life connects me with the towns of Regla and Casablanca. So, in spite of the passing of time and my few visits – when I felt disheartened seeing places that mean a lot to me becoming deteriorated- it has been very gratifying to see a community now invaded by good art, with a positive change of its environment.
Cuban writer Leonardo Padura won the Princess of Asturias Prize for Letters in Spain last Wednesday.
Barack Obama has made no secret of his desire to visit Cuba. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters: I know there's one person in particular who hopes President Obama will be in Havana at some point in the relatively near future, and thats President Obama himself.
Docklands Sinfonia will once again break new ground with its exciting July 10 concert, "Cuba Fantastique", featuring a programme of exuberant music that beautifully captures the spirit of Cuba. The concert at St Anne's Limehouse begins with George Gershwin's colourful "Cuban Overture", which sets the scene for the World Premiere of Eduardo Martín's "Concierto Mestizo".
Cuban feminist author Aida Bahr read from her collection of prize-winning short stories, Ophelias/Ofelias , to San Francisco Bay area audiences at two special events in May.
A Cuban artist known for whimsical public sculptures received a new award from a U.S. foundation in May during the Havana Art Biennial in a reflection of warmer relations between the countries.
"Why wait for ambassadors when we have poets?"
Cuba 50 
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